


The Ranger and the She-Elf

by orphan_account



Category: Shadow of War - Fandom
Genre: Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-16
Updated: 2019-11-17
Packaged: 2021-02-07 08:18:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21454915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: For decades he fought against the darkness. Alone.Now he wasn't.
Relationships: Talion/Eltariel
Comments: 5
Kudos: 24





	1. Chapter 1

Talion stared warily at the glowing green barrier. Every time he passed he felt less human, less like Talion. The Witch-King's magic fuelled Isildur's Ring with strength and it took time for Talion to establish his control over it once more. He sighed heavily and stepped through the barrier, Isildur's Ring glowing triumphantly. Whispers came, the whispers of a lover, of a jailor, of promises of Middle-Earth at his fingertips.

It showed him his problems, of an Orc army besieging Seregost, led by the Nazgul. It showed him the Witch-King, lurking nearby, ever present and skulking around the city he had ruined and been banished from. It showed him a flaming Eye to the east, watching him, amused and surprised in equal measure as he continued to resist. Then the Eye turned blue and looked upon him with pride and remorse, before turning once more into an angry orange. 

Then it showed him the solution to his problems. It was so easy, so simple and yet the bitter truth. Give up. Become one of the Nine in servitude to the Dark Lord. To let Isildur's Ring control him and take care of his worries for him. 

"I am not of darkness yet." he murmured, barely believing the words himself. Neither did the ring. It urged him to give up, to be at ease and conquer and dominate everything and then rest. 

"I am not of darkness yet!" he growled, this time strong and sure. The ring dimmed, subdued as he imposed his will over it. He wondered how long it would be before it tried to make him fall into the darkness. He sighed once more and continued on his way.

For all accounts and purposes this inner sanctum was his and his alone. And yet the Witch-King's magic remained still, decades after he had been banished by Talion. He wondered if Minas Morgul could ever return to Minas Ithil.

When he took the city he considered renaming back to it's original name. However that felt like a betrayal to what it once was, to compare the majestic beauty of Minas Ithil to the eerie, ghoulish Minas Morgul, for a simple name change would not return Minas Morgul into Minas Ithil. Another reason why Talion did not rename Minas Morgul was because it would dishonour those who laid their lives low for Minas Ithil. They would not be remembered for defending a ghoulish hellhole. 

_"But they will be remembered for losing the 'majestic' Minas Ithil."_ the Ring taunted, and Talion could see the sneer in the Witch-King's voice.

"And you'll be remembered for losing the 'mighty' Minas Morgul to a Ranger of the Black Gate." Talion retorted and he smirked triumphantly when he heard the Witch-King's growl and saw the Ring glow angrily.

"We are coming, coming for you!" the Witch-King swore and then the Ring dimmed once more and Talion felt his ever looming presence disappear.

He sighed. At least with the Witch-King near he knew where he was.

Talion continued, walking past the barricades that Minas Ithil's defenders had erected in their last stand against the Dark Lord's host. He pushed open the double doors and neared the Palantir. He had tried to get it out of Minas Morgul long ago. However the Gondorian's at Osgiliath had killed the Uruk messengers he sent to them. He couldn't go himself, for he looked too much like a Nazgul and not the Ranger he once was. His armour jagged and twisted, wrought and rent. Urfael was as sharp as ever, however it was blackened and burnt and sharper than what it was before. Acharn was jagged and like Urfael exuded a darkness that only a Nazgul blade could radiate. The cloak his long deceased and still dearly missed wife Ioreth had made him was black, torn and grim. Talion himself had changed too. His eyes no longer a steely blue, but now a dim orange. His face traced by angry purple veins. Even his lips had changed, now they too were purple. 

Talion was changed. He knew that. But ,for now at least, he was still himself in the inside. 

He held the Palantir in his hand and looked into the writhing orange ball. Sauron had tried to exert his dominance over the Palantir time and time again. However Talion had driven the Dark Lord every time. The Dark Lord was powerful, his strength growing with each passing day. However the Palantir was in Minas Morgul and although the magic of the Dark Lord's servants was strong here still, Talion was the one with the most power over Minas Morgul and the Palantir. For now at least.

He and Sauron was trapped in a stalemate and as someone who he once counted as a friend said sometimes in the fight against darkness, stalemate is a victory.

Talion sighed when he thought of Eltariel. The sigh was not like his regular weary ones, but one filled with anger and hurt and sadness. The She-Elf had betrayed him for a ring and a wraith. He did not know what became of Eltariel after her battle with Sauron stop Barad-Dur, but he had reason to believe she was alive still. Rumours had began to arrive from Seregost of a She-Elf defeating Nazgul. Talion did not know how to react to the news.

He shook his head, clearing his thoughts. Sauron undoubtedly awaited him in the Palantir.

It was a constant cycle. He would fight and defeat Sauron's armies and return to Minas Morgul to regather his strength for the next fight. But then the Witch-King and the Nazgul would taunt him from above and Sauron from the Palantir and Ring. It was a constant assault, aimed at wearing him down.

It was working.

Again Talion shook his head and cleared his thoughts. He inhaled a shaky breath and looked into the writhing red. It shifted and he saw.

_Blue and Orange clashing constantly._

_Uruks under a banner of a flaming eye assailing Cirith Ungol._

_Seregost burning as the Nazgul flew atop their fell beasts above._

_The Witch-King laying a hand on his shoulder in an almost gentle gesture and he turned around, no longer Talion. _

Talion gasped and he hastily put the Palantir back onto its pedestal. He blinked rapidly as the images burned into his mind. He was about to leave when he heard a war cry that sounded familiar. Talion turned to see Eltariel charging him, her two blades in her hand and the New Ring glowing almost as brightly as the Light of Galadriel.

"Eltariel!" he exclaimed raising the hand which held Isildur's Ring and a blast of green light blasted out of it, blowing Eltariel back nearly twenty feet. 

She growled and leapt to her feet. 

"I'll make this quick for the man you once were Talion!" she growled and charged him once more. 

"I am still Talion!" he cried. "I am not of darkness yet!"

She slowed down and lowered her blades. Talion was glad he did not sound like a Nazgul yet, worrying what might've happened otherwise.

"Talion?" she asked, her voice shocked and full of pity. He didn't blame her for pitying him. He was doomed to an unpleasant fate.

"It is me Eltariel." he replied and she took a few cautious steps towards him, blades low but unsheathed.

"How have you resisted for this long?" she asked, her face shocked and voice awed.

"By resisting." he replied simply and a he saw the edges of her lips curl slightly.

Then she sheathed her blades and strode towards him.

"I'm sorry for what I did to you." she said sincerely and regretfully. 

"There's nothing to forgive Eltariel." he replied just as sincerely and her face relaxed and she smiled.

"Your different." she said, looking pointedly at his face.

"So are you." he replied, gesturing to he phantom fingers. She smiled and he found himself doing the same.

Then he remembered what he saw in the Palantir.

"I must go." he said and began to stride off.

"Where to?" Eltariel asked, right next to him.

"Cirith Ungol is being attacked by Sauron's forces and the Nazgul are besieging Seregost." he replied. "I can relieve Cirith Ungol with the Uruk's I have here and potentially the aid of Shelob but I must be quick if I wish to save Seregost also."

"Let me help." Eltariel said and he smiled at her tone, knowing she would not take no for an answer.

"Take my Uruk's here and relieve Cirith Ungol, I will fly to Seregost and get there quicker than you could." he said and she grimaced. 

"Must I lead the Uruks?" she asked and he nodded. 

"You will have to do more than that." he replied and he gestured to the New Ring. She quickly caught onto his message and she frowned.

"No." she declared adamantly.

"Yes." he replied.

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"You owe me one."

She sighed and nodded resignedly.

"My Warchief's will help you." he said, hoping to relieve some of her stress. "You will not be alone in fighting the enemy."

"But you will." she replied, her voice matter of fact and victorious as if she was proving a point.

"I have fought alone for decades." he replied, his voice sad and laced with decades of bitterness and loneliness.

"Not anymore." she said and he smiled her.

"Not anymore." he affirmed before summoning his Drake and flying with the wind.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Talion on the way to Seregost.

Talion closed his eyes and grinned as the wind washed over him. He enjoyed flying atop his Drake. It cleared the darkness lurking at the edges of his mind. 

He especially loved flying over Seregost. The wind was colder and bit fiercely into his skin. It was more refeshing than flying in the smog of Gorgoroth or in the stiflingness of the mountains at Cirith Ungol. 

He was nearing Seregost now. He could smell the darkness that now tainted the air.

Helm Hammerhand awaited him, eager for a third round against Talion (who had beaten him first with the help of Celebrimbor and Eltariel at Seregost and secondly just by himself at one of the sieges of Nurn).

Two other Nazgul stood with Hammerhand, their names long ago lost to themselves, known only by Sauron.

The three Nazgul were not alone. 

They had an army of 4,000 Savages, 8,000 Uruk Warriors, 2,000 Fire Archers and two Cursed Siege Beasts. They had a group of Sappers and a War Graug. They also had banner carrying Uruk's that would inspire the Uruk army into a frenzy.

If that was not enough then Hammerhand could summon an army of Ghuls and Caragor's and at least two Drakes. 

Seregost had much less.

The garrison had 2,000 Defenders, 6,000 Uruk Warriors, 3,000 long ranged archers. Despite the obvious numerical disadvantage, Seregost had other strengths. 

It's walls were made of Reinforced Stone, it had fire spouts, Fiery Siege Beasts, two caged Drakes at the gate and Fire Mines scattered across the Fortress. It was a force to be reckoned with indeed. 

Hûra the Horned Lord was Overlord, and he was Talion's most experienced and trusted follower. He had his own gang of Olog's and two poisoned axes. He feared nothing, not even the Dark Lord himself, though he was severely weakened by stealth attacks. His Warchiefs were powerful and dangerous. Ar-Hakon the Crusher, Lûgdash the Beheader, Ashgarn the Iron Arm, Ghûra the Warmonger, Garl of the Flies and Zakthrak the Necromancer were some of Talion's strongest followers and captain's and he knew Seregost would hold strong until his arrival.

Talion knew the real fighting would begin when he arrived. The Nazgul had become entirely focused on wearing him down specifically over the past few years and they were slowly getting the better of him. Hopefully things would be easier with Eltariel's arrival. 

Talion knew that the only reason why he entrusted Eltariel with his strongest standing army was because of his loneliness and desperation. For decades he had been fighting constantly and alone. 

Yes the Uruk's could occasionally be good company and the occisionally trip to visit Shelob helped but for the majority of his war he had been alone. 

_"No longer." She said, almost daring him to say otherwise. _

He would not fight alone anymore.


End file.
